A couple weeks ago, coming up on my personal deadline for my book I did the most natural thing to do: I cleaned out my e-mail inbox instead.
It felt like I was excavating my own personal digital history, in a way that’s more clearly stratified than, say, Facebook is. Of course, there is inevitably filler e-mails – though, interestingly, those filler e-mails are also telling. I only started getting regular YouTube updates in the last few years. I don’t get e-mails about Magic: the Gathering anymore, and that short stint getting esoteric playing cards from Europe. Ah. Those were the days.
But of course, there were more substantial nuggets in there. The deepest layers were job applications that definitely didn’t even land an interview. A few back and forth e-mails about books with my girlfriend and – later – drafts of wedding vows.
Exchanges from a TTRPG I ran YEARS ago. And exchanges from ANOTHER TTRPG that was the big game I ran after. that one.
My exchanges with a friend about how to get into TTRPG freelancing. E-mails with a project manager at Paizo after Gencon asking questions; my first freelance contract. My second.
My first query (and its rejection).
More recently, a couple of years ago, a flurry of house stuff. And then, fwoosh. Queries. Queries. QUERIES! A flurry of them. Oh man here’s that dream agent they’re so cool I really want to work with the- wow they rejected me in FOUR HOURS. That’s actually pretty impressive. (it’s cool though – I know it’s not personal).
The next dream agent. Oh wow they ARE a really good fit and they say they like Firefly and Space Opera and – oop. Yeah, that took like 9 months but they did reject me. Again, totally fine, part of the process.
Writing is a long game. I mean, so is life, I suppose. I’ve been officially “an adult” (whatever that means) for over a decade now. I’m going to be a Dad, for Sagan’s sake. A lot of the changes and growth that we make as people are slow, gradual things, and so we don’t often see them laid out in all their tiny snapshots like this.
I’m excited to see what my inbox will be like in the next 10 years.
Cheers all.
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